Video Poker Strategy

The following video poker strategy is for entertainment purposes only. If you're playing for real money, do your own math!

When playing any form of poker, including video poker, your goal is to maximize your EV (Expected Value) every hand. In the long run, you will make the most money by making the decision with the highest EV. If you didn't understand a word you just read, don't get discouraged. Read a couple of the comprehensive examples below to enhance your video poker strategy.

We based our EV numbers on the Cool Cat Jacks or Better payouts.

Jacks or Better Strategy - Look at ways to play your starting hand and choose the highest on the list.

• EV – hand
• 4,000 – royal flush – example: Ac Kc Qc Jc Tc
• 250 – straight flush – example: Ac 2c 3c 4c 5c
• 125 – four of a kind – example: 7c 7d 7h 7s Ac
• 98 – four to a royal flush – example: Kc Qc Jc Tc Kd (discarding Kd)
• 30 – full house – example: 8c 8d 8s 9c 9d
• 25 – flush – example: 2c 3c 7c Jc Kc
• 21 – three of a kind – example: Qc Qd Qh 3c 4s (discarding 3c 4s)
• 20 – straight – example: 6d 7h 8c 9h Ts
• 17 – four to a straight flush with 2 outs (ev is more like 11 with 1 out) – example: 7c 8c 9c Tc (discarding 7d)
• 12 – two pair – example: Jc Jd 5c 5d 2s (discarding 2s)
• 8 – high pair – example: Jc Jd 3c 6d 7h (discarding 3c 6d 7h)
• 7 – three to a royal flush with MAX coins – example: Tc Jc Qc 7d 2d (discarding 7d 2d)
• 5 – four to a flush – example: Kc Tc 7c 4c 2d (discarding 2d)
• 4 – low pair – example: 5c 5d Kd 9h 4s (discarding Kd 9h 4s)
• 3 – four to an outside straight – example: 8s 7s 6h 5h 2c (discarding 2c)
• two suited high cards
• three to a straight flush
• two unsuited high cards (if more than 2 then pick the lowest 2)
• suited TJ, TQ, or TK
• one high card (a Jack or higher)
• discard everything

Video Poker Strategy: Example 1 - Throw away a high pair, or go for a flush?

Suppose we put 5 coins in Cool Cat Casino's Jacks or Better video poker game and we are dealt Ad Ah 5d 9d 3d. We could discard the Ah and go for the diamond flush. On the other hand, we could hold the pair of aces and discard 3 cards. Lets analyze the two alternatives with video poker strategy and select the one with the highest EV.

Using the video poker trainer, we reveal the EV of holding 4 cards and going for the flush.

Instead of skipping to the EV, we'll break down the video poker trainer table. The "Rank" column lists the type of hands you might have after you draw cards. The "Combos" column breaks down how many combinations of hands you might get. In the example above, there are 9 ways to draw a flush (Kd, Qd, Jd, Td, 8d, 7d, 6d, 4d, and 2d), 2 combinations of Jacks or Better (Ac and As), and 36 cards will result on no payout. Next, the "Probability" column is the percentage we get draw a hand. The "Payout" column displays the payout for each hand. Finally, the "EV" column breaks down the expected value of each hand and aggregates the total. In this example, the EV is 5. Going for the flush is a break-even play because we deposited 5 coins in the machine.

We could also hold onto our pair of aces and draw 3 cards.

The EV is 7.53, higher than the EV of our first alternative, so we should keep our pair of aces and discard 3 cards. In the long run, we will make a profit of 2.53 coins. (7.53 EV - 5 Coins)

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